THE WORLD SITUATION 19
Or again, are we trying to reduce our standing
army of British soldiers on the Frontier so as to
leave "Defence" as soon as possible in Indian hands ?
Are we admitting Indians into the control and
conduct of their foreign affairs as well as their
home administration, or are we retaining these in
our own hands for imperial purposes ?
Such questions might be multiplied, and it will
not be enough merely to reply that we have spent
six years at Round Table Conferences, fashioning
a new Indian Constitution. For the India Act itself,
which was passed at last through both Houses of
Parliament, only with extreme difficulty and dogged
opposition, represented nothing more than a dead-
lock. Neither side was in the least happy about what
had been accomplished. In some ways, the whole
procedure showed England on her weakest side
with much selfish bargaining and very little imagina-
tion or generosity over the larger issues. There was
no agreed settlement reached, such as the Prime
Minister had fully anticipated, but an Act imposed
upon the Indian people, whether they liked it or
not.
Although this book will not contain a discussion
of the details of the new Constitution, now estab-
lished by law, it may be well to point out in a
general manner where the strength of the Indian
opposition to the Act lies: for this opposition is
almost universal, and it is certain to come more and
more into prominence as time goes on.
To take one outstanding criticism, it is asserted